


Three Strikes, You're Taking Me Out

by katebishoop



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baseball, F/M, First Dates, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 20:43:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6922714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katebishoop/pseuds/katebishoop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I still have no idea what's going on," Bellamy says, "Why did the pitcher throw the ball at the second plate?"</p><p>"<i>Base</i>. Second <i>base</i>." From Bellamy's grin, she's pretty sure he's messing with her at this point, since she has corrected him several times already. And she's going to keep doing it, too. "And the runner was trying to steal third."</p><p>"Steal? You can cheat in baseball?"</p><p>"It's not cheating if it's in the rules, Bellamy."</p><p>He throws his hands up in the air. "I give up trying to understand. I'll just cheer when you cheer."</p><p>--</p><p>Clarke and Bellamy go to a baseball game. It may or may not be a date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Strikes, You're Taking Me Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rebellamy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebellamy/gifts).



> This is for [Dani](http://rebellam-y.tumblr.com) because she's just gr8 and she got me to watch The Sandlot which A+ movie okay. Also I went to a baseball game so I was ~inspired~

"What's with all these _ramps_?" Bellamy asks with a bit of a groan as they head up yet another one.   
  
Their seats for the Ark Astros versus the Polis Warriors baseball game where all the way in the top section. Clarke is pretty sure they were halfway there, maybe. She hadn't been there in years.   
  
She and Bellamy were supposed to go with Octavia and Lincoln, who had got the tickets in the first place, but at the last minute they canceled - a "family emergency" of Lincoln's, but nothing too serious to worry about.   
_  
"Octavia, if this is some convoluted plan..."    
  
Octavia had been trying to get her and Bellamy together for weeks, but like Clarke kept telling her, Bellamy clearly wasn't interested. No one could be that oblivious - she's been getting her flirt game on so hard she's practically in the major leagues - so she takes that as an easy rejection. That's it.   
  
Octavia had put her hand over Clarke's mouth. "If I had a plan, I'd be there to see it, you know that." _   
  
Clarke snorts. "We could have taken the escalator, you know."   
  
"There was a line." Bellamy grumbles. He can be such an old man sometimes, and Clarke's a sucker for it.   
  
Bellamy huffs loudly when they reach the top. It's not like they climbed Everest or anything.   
  
"Bellamy," she says, and he stops walking and faces her. "It's the way," she says, pointing in the opposite direction.   
  
Bellamy rubs a hand over his face. "I hate sports."   


* * *

Clarke really missed ballpark food. The greasy, cholesterol filled junk. She thought about a hot dog but - she got something that she and Bellamy could share.   
  
She waves to him when he comes out of the bathroom, and it's possible he looks more disgruntled than before as he weaves through the stream of people towards her.   
  
"That is... a lot of nachos," Bellamy says.   
  
"It comes in a helmet." Clarke's words come out a little muffled from all the food in her mouth. She holds up the large plastic helmet shaped bowl for him to see. "Big enough to share."   
  
Bellamy rolls his eyes, but takes a chip.    
  
There seats are all the way at the end of the stadium over in left field. They're in the first row of the five hundred block, in front of the walkway. Clarke's especially happy - she specifically mentioned Octavia should get these seats - because she loves putting her feet up on the bar.   
  
They missed the top of the first inning, but Clarke doesn't mind because that means they missed the National Anthem. The Astros have an unintentional tradition where they get the absolute worst singers.    
  
And also because the Warriors didn't get any runs.   
  
She shoves the helmet of nachos into Bellamy laps and jumps up and cheers when the first run the Astros is a home run.   
  
"That's right bitch!" She yells, before plopping back down in her seat. She turns to grin at him. "Fair warning, I'm going to be saying that a lot."   
  
Bellamy blinks at her. "I didn't know you liked baseball."   
  
Clarke shrugs. "I used to come a lot before my dad died."   
  
Bellamy nods in understanding. "We'll you can explain it to me then, because I have absolutely no idea what's going on. Like what are those numbers on the screen? How are there decimal points?"   
  
"That's the batting average," Clarke says, "but I have no idea how they calculate that. All you have to pay attention are those two rows." She points to the scoreboard, specially the rows with the team's scores and the current batter’s status.   
  
"You don't have to pay too much attention though," Clarke goes on, shoving another handful of chips into her mouth, "going to a baseball game is more about the people you're with than the game."   
  
Bellamy rolls his eyes, but he's got a fond smile on his face. "Let me guess, winning doesn't matter either?"   
  
Clarke goes dead serious, and she turns to look him directly in the eye. "Winning is everything."   
  
Bellamy's eyes go wide, like maybe she's actually made him worried. "Ooookay then."   
  
Clarke laughs and sits back in her chair. "Baseball games have the chilliest crowds, don't worry. There's too many pauses in the game for the crowd to get rowdy."   
  
Bellamy looks around suspiciously - their section is fairly empty - and shifts in his seat. "If you say so."   


* * *

By the bottom fourth inning, the teams are tied two to two.   
  
"I still have no idea what's going on," Bellamy says, "Why did the pitcher throw the ball at the second plate?"   
  
" _Base_. Second _base_." From Bellamy's grin, she's pretty sure he's messing with her at this point, since she has corrected him several times already. And she's going to keep doing it, too. "And the runner was trying to steal third."   
  
"Steal? You can cheat in baseball?"   
  
"It's not cheating if it's in the rules, Bellamy."   
  
He throws his hands up in the air. "I give up trying to understand. I'll just cheer when you cheer."   
  
And he does when the Astros get another two runs, giving them a good lead.   
  
Up on the jumbotron comes the the Steal the Base Race. It's a cute little girl with pigtails held together by rocket ship clips and she fired up.   
  
"This whole experience has been surreal." Bellamy says as they watch the little girl dart at the sound of the buzzer. "These games. The random bursts of cheer that just - die out." Bellamy shakes his head, and then perks up as the music starts up. "Are they playing _Funky Town_?"   
  
"You bet they are." Clarke grins at him. "Baseball is the most family friendly sport."   
  
"I feel like you're making a lot of this stuff up."   
  
"Doesn't mean it isn't true."   
  
Bellamy opens his mouth, then closes it again, shaking his head. "I'm suing."   
  
"Who exactly?"   
  
"I don't know I just feel like I should sue someone for all this."   
  
Clarke rolls her eyes and puts the helmet of nachos into his lap. It is really big - they haven't finished it yet. "I'm going to get a beer. Want one?"   
  
"Uh sure, hold on-" Bellamy goes for his wallet.   
  
Clarke puts a hand on his shoulder. "I got it."   
  
"You bought the nachos tho-"   
  
"And you can buy ice cream later then?" Clarke prompts, a hand on her hip.   
  
Bellamy concede with a sheepish grin. "Fine. But we're getting vanilla."   
  
Clarke makes a big show of groaning as she hops over the bar - but she's smiling, and so is Bellamy.    


* * *

When she comes back with the two beers in hand, she paused at the steps.    
  
Bellamy had a big, bright smiles on his face. He was watching the jumbotron - the smile-cam is on, and the camera bounces from child to child in the stadium, smiling and dancing.   
  
Bellamy's a sucker for kids, and Clarke is still a sucker for him.   
  
His arm is outstretched, along the back of her seat. And when she sits down next to him, she leans right into him.   
  
And - he doesn't move his arm away.   
  
"What did I miss?" She hands him his beer.   
  
"There was a lot of booing, and also screaming, and a failed attempt at the wave."   
  
"I missed the _wave_?"   
  
"Indeed you did." Bellamy takes a careful sip of his beer. The cup is filled to the brim. "They didn't give you a lid or something?"   
  
She turns her head and cocks an eyebrow at him. "You'd drink beer from a straw?"   
  
Their faces are very, very close.   
  
Clarke swallows, and for a moment she thinks Bellamy does too.   
  
"Point taken."   
  
The crowd erupts into cheers and they pull] apart. Astros are now leading six to three.   
  
Bellamy's gotten into the game at this point - yelling along with her, the word _bitch_ after everything. She doesn't know when she started using that word - she didn't get it from her father, that's for for sure - and she doesn't use it any other time than at baseball games. It just feels right - as a taunt, as a claim of victory.   
  
As time passes, Bellamy's arm slips down from the seat back to be around her shoulder. He rubs his thumb against her shoulder, and she doesn't even think he realizes he's doing it.    
  
The center fielder catches the fly ball, and it's three outs. Bellamy gets a text as the two-minute change period begins, muttering something about Miller being a fucking dork.   
  
She checks her own phone - just a text from Raven: a picture of Jasper on the floor crying with her face peaking out in the corner grinning, no context - and when she looks up on the jumbotron, her jaw drops.   
  
It's the kiss cam - but it's who it's on that's the shocking part.   
  
It's not her and Bellamy.   
  
It's Octavia and Lincoln.   
  
They look like their across the way from them, on the other side of the stadium. Octavia's got _binoculars_ for Christ's sake around her neck   
  
"Bellamy," she's trying to form words before they disappear off screen - she taps his arm. "The kiss cam!"    
  
"Huh?" Bellamy says, and she turns to him, trying to get him to understand-   
  
But he leans down and kisses her instead.   
  
It's gentle and firm. He tastes like beer and cheese, with a bit of guacamole. It takes her a few seconds, but she responds - just as he pulls away.   
  
She's still stunned, blinking up at him. When he opens his eyes and sees her expression, his quickly turns stricken. "What?"   
  
Clarke's hand is still on his neck. How the fuck did that get there? Clarke swallows. "It wasn't on us."   
  
" _What?_ "   
  
"It was on Octavia and Lincoln."   
  
_"What!?_ "   
  
"Yeah."   
  
Bellamy's frozen, staring at her, his face going red. Even so she can't imagine it's as reds as hers.   
  
"Oh so-" Bellamy stutters, pulling back a bit. "So I didn't need to- I'm sorry I-"   
  
Clarke can't take it anymore, so she pulls him by the neck down back so his lips are crushing hers.   
  
There's nothing gentle about this one - it's deep and messy and needy. It's telling him to _shut up_ and _get a move on_ all at the same time.   
  
And he responds with equal vigor. His hand slips into her hair, and tilts her head to change the angle. He runs his tongue on the seam of her lips, and she opens her mouth for him.   
  
She's imagined this, kissing Bellamy, but her imagination had clearly never come close to the real thing. The roar of the stadium is just a full buzzing compared to them.   
  
They do have to come up for air though, but they don't go very far. Their heads are bowed together, hot breath against each other's faces.   
  
She kissed him. And he kissed her back.   
  
"Normally I don't kiss on the first date," Clarke says between breaths, "but I'll make an exception for you."   
  
Bellamy lets out a huff. "So you did want this to be a date?" He sounds exasperated, and it worries her a moment but then he leans in again to give her a quick kiss. "I thought Octavia was messing with me. I hadn't thought you were interested-"   
  
Clarke laughs and knocks her nose against his. "I've been flirting with you for months. I thought you weren't interested."   
  
Bellamy makes an indignant noise, and she tugs at the curls at the back of his neck.   
  
"Let me be clear about one thing then," Bellamy says, his voice low and gravely, "I am interested in everything about you, Clarke Griffin."   
  
Clarke's smile is as bright as if the Astros just got a grand slam. She leans in and kisses him again with fervor - who cares if this is a family event.   
  
She holds her middle finger up for good measure. She knows Octavia's watching.   


* * *

"You're a complete and utter ass." Bellamy's gone to get their ice cream, so she face timed Octavia. " _Both_ of you."   
  
"For the record, I didn't know about her plan until this morning," Lincoln says, but he still looks smug.   
  
"I did tell you if be there to see it, so..." Octavia drawls on. She's practically bouncing in her seat.   
  
"Jesus, O." Clarke shakes her head. "We got these tickets months ago, were you planning this the whole time?"   
  
"Yep," Octavia says proudly, "you're welcome, by the way. But keep it G - there are  _children_ around."    
  
She hangs up just as Bellamy comes back.   
  
"Your sister's a menace."   
  
Bellamy snorts. "Tell me something I don't know." He hands her a spoon. "The ice cream comes in a _mini_ helmet."   
  
He didn't get vanilla, he got chocolate-vanilla swirl. He turns the little helmet around so that the chocolate's on her side. Both are covered in rainbow sprinkles.   
  
Clarke's in love. Or really hungry.   
  
Or both.   
  
"You're the actual best," she says as she takes a spoonful.   
  
Bellamy's cheeks flush, and it makes her giddy.     
  
The Astros are winning.  Her and Bellamy are - she doesn't know the word for it yet, but they're _something_.   
  
Nothing could make this night any better.   
  
"It's the seventh inning stretch!" Clarke jumps up and pulls Bellamy up too by the hand.   
  
"The what?"   
  
Clarke rolls her eyes. If they're dating now, he better get used to baseball. This is her first time back in years, but she's rediscovered her love of it.   
  
"Just stretch your legs and sing, okay?"   
  
It starts with Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and it's appalling how Bellamy stumbles over the words. Like _seriously_ how doesn't he know this song at the very least?   
  
Then it goes into the team song - heaven is a place on Earth. It's her dad's favorite song, and they used to join hands and he'd spin her around.   
  
"What are you doing?" She's taken Bellamy's hands, swinging them and swaying.   
  
She motions for him to go under her arm, and he complies with a roll of his eyes and an exasperated smile.   
  
The seventh inning stretch had always been her favorite part.   
  
"Where is everyone going?" Bellamy asks, when they've sat back down.    
  
"They've stop serving alcohol - so some people just leave early then."   
  
Bellamy looks down at her, a smirk on his face. "I really want to leave early so we can make out."   
  
Clarke clocks an eyebrow at him. "Really?"   
  
"Among other things."   
  
Clarke leans up so she can whisper in his ear. "You know what I really want?" She lets her lips graze his earlobe. "I really want you to finish your first baseball game."   
  
Bellamy tilts his head to capture her lips in his, rough and-   
  
"You're loss then," he says, pulling back way too soon.   
  
Clarke narrows her eyebrows at him and turns back to the game. She wasn't budging. Baseball was sacred.

* * *

She remembers it always gets cold and windy up in the high in the stands, so Clarke brought a blanket. It's big enough to cover both her and Bellamy.   
  
And she never thought cuddling under a blanket with Bellamy would be a _problem_.   
  
He's teasing her. The arm around her shoulders, his hand slipping under her bra strap. His other one toys at her thighs, and the edge of her shorts, and higher.   
  
It's the top of the eighth inning. Astros are up by four. There's no way the Warriors could come back from that.   
  
As soon as they get three outs, Clarke jumps up.    
  
"Fine," she says grumpily as she throws the blanket onto him. "You win."   
  
When Bellamy digs himself out from under the blanket, his hair is messy and his grin is bright - and yeah, Clarke made the right choice.   
  
Screw sacred.   
  
They shove everything but their plastic helmet bowls into her bag, and he takes her hand as they exit.   
  
"Hold on a second." Clarke stops in front of the condiment counter. She grabs some napkins and wipes out the insides of the helmets.   
  
She puts the big one on his head, and the little one on hers.   
  
"Smile," she says, holding her phone out to take a selfie.   
  
Bellamy kisses her cheek though, and the picture is him doing that, her face all scrunched and smiling with joy.   
  
She puts the little helmet in her bag since it won't stay on her head, but Bellamy keeps the big one on.   
  
She slips her hand back into his - and they take the escalator this time.   
  
They don't get very far though - just to Bellamy's car - because they can't keep their hands off each other.   
  
Bellamy's got her pressed down into the backseat, his mouth on her neck. His hands are roaming everywhere, and so are hers.   
  
"If you-" Clarke says between breaths. "-get us to your place-" His lips latch onto that spot behind her ear that causes her to let out a high pitched gasp. "-you'll hit a homerun."   
  
Bellamy laughs into her neck. "Did you just use a line on me?"   
  
His hand  brushing the underside of her breast and - fuck. They really needed to hurry up, because she'd take him right there in this parking lot as all the families walked past.   
  
"I'd consider it a pun under the circumstances."   
  
Bellamy kisses his way up her neck - and God, that wasn't helping at all -  and finds his way back to her mouth. "We better get going then."   
  
Some parents glare at them as they get out of the backseat and into the front.   
  
Bellamy automatically reaches for her hand. He's still wearing that plastic helmet. The radio says that yes, the Astros did win.    
  
It was a pretty good day at the ballgame, and she'd like to go back.   


**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this entirely on my ten hour flight and by the end I was in this weird daze but I realized that this is like, the third time I've written Octavia scheming and setting them up in like, a month? oops.
> 
> come hang out over on [tumblr](http://bellakeyblake.tumblr.com)!


End file.
